


Shifting Center

by Selah



Series: Shinjitsu to Gensou [66]
Category: Jrock, Plastic Tree, X JAPAN, the GazettE
Genre: Aftercare, Biting, Light BDSM, Light Bondage, M/M, Polyamory, Season of Kink 2017, Supernatural Elements, mention of casual homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 12:03:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12189636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selah/pseuds/Selah
Summary: In the past, surprise gifts had always made Ryuutarou a bit uneasy. Funny how much being with Aoi had changed his perspective on everything.





	Shifting Center

**Author's Note:**

> time stamp: August 2017-November 2017-February 2018  
> Yup, look at me posting future-fic. XD Written for both the secrets challenge over at VKYaoi @ DW and the pervertables square of my SoK card.
> 
> In hanakotoba, white anemone means sincere, white camellia means waiting, lily of the valley for sweet/promise of happiness, and pink rose for trust/confidence. Of course it's bad form to use that many flowers, but Yosama is nothing if not someone who overdoes things constant. ;)
> 
> And before anyone jumps on my back for the middle scene: Potter and baseball are both HUGE in Japan, so bite me.

“Did my 'secret admirer' strike again?” Aoi teased.

“Nope. These came for me,” Ryuu said, fussing with the mixed bouquet of white anemone, white camellia, and lily of the valley, clustered around a single pink rose. Some would say it was a bit much, and certainly it was too many elements for proper ikebana, but....

“For you?”

“Mm,” he said, handing over the card that had come with the flowers. Computer printed and no signature at all, but coming to the condo while he and Aoi were actually using it, well, it almost didn't need a signature. Only a few people would think to send him flowers at all, fewer still would know to reach him here.

“I'd ask if I should be worried about this secret admirer of yours,” Aoi said, tucking arms around Ryuutarou's waist and nuzzling his ear, “but since you're happy, I'm happy. No signature, how do you know who sent them?”

“Secret,” Ryuutarou said, laughing when Aoi pinched him. “Not telling! My secret!”

“Tell me!”

“No! My secret!” Ryuutarou insisted, wriggling away from tickling hands. If Aoi actually ordered him to tell, of course he would, but unlike some of his previous masters, Aoi had no problem with letting him keep some things to himself.

“I'm just glad to see you happy, love,” Aoi said when he finally caught him again, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “As long as it's just this, it's fine, but if Admirer-san tries for anything more....”

“Closed means closed, yes, love, I know,” he said, humming as he snuggled into his mate's arms. Their relationship was hardly conventional, especially in a society that was still grappling with how to handle same-sex partnerships in the modern era, but it worked for them. All four of them. Ryuutarou was definitely content, more so than he had been in years. 

~*~*~

The arrival of a catered lunch caught everyone off guard, especially Tadashi who had intended to set them all free for lunch instead.

“This ... are you sure this is for us?”

“Order said deliver to this studio, at this time, for members and staff of Plastic Tree,” the young delivery man said, holding up the receipt copy of the order with its special instructions box filled in almost completely. The bill was already paid, charged to an account held by a Hayashi-sama, but there was no one on their team or even in their management chain with that name.

“It's weird, but ... it's food? I mean, we can't let it go to waste, right?” Kenken said.

“Still, I'd like to know who did this,” Tadashi said, frowning at the receipt.

“Good luck with that, Hayashi is in, like, the top 20 most common surnames in the country,” Ryuutarou said, helping himself to one of the bento and a bottle of chilled sweet tea. “Could be anyone.”

“Yeah, that's the problem,” Tadashi said, still frowning.

“It's not like the food's been poisoned or something, grumpy butt Leader-sama,” Kenken countered. “It came right from the restaurant. And if it was someone looking for fame or favors, I think they would've been more obvious in identity. You know, so they could actually collect. Like this, it really could be anyone, only ones who can profit from this are us, right? So relax and eat with us already.”

Ryuutarou had to bite back a smile as Tadashi continued to give the food distrustful looks. He had his own thoughts about their mystery sponsor, but he certainly wasn't going to say them out loud. After all, he had no proof, or at least none he was willing to share with his bandmates. After everything Tadashi and Akira had said - sometimes _still_ said - after finding out that he was not only back together with Aoi but having kids with him.... Tadashi was getting better, but the way Akira still slipped and talked about “faggots” ... Ryuutarou had absolutely no intention of trying to explain his polyamory to either of them. It was his private life, they didn't need to know. Telling them about Aoi and the twins had been hard enough, but necessary. Especially since enough digging could potentially out him as a married father of twins and he hadn't wanted to risk making things worse by letting his bandmates get blind sided by some reporter. But the rest of it....

“Well, as long as we're all eating togeth–.”

“Nope,” Ryuutarou interrupted, picking out a piece of unagi and popping it in his mouth with an appreciative hum. “The mysterious Hayashi-sama has given Neko unagi. Neko is free!”

“Pretty sure that's not how this works,” Kenken said, laughing as he settled in with his own bento.

“Well, no ... but Neko still isn't working again until after unagi and a nap.”

“What? No. Definitely not,” Tadashi grumbled.

“No napping in baseball?” Ryuutarou replied with his most innocent face and tone.

“What?” Tadashi repeated, frowning again. “Tarou, you're so weird....”

Ryuutarou grinned and helped himself to more of his lunch. At least Tadashi was actually eating with them now. He would just have to remember to ask his secret admirer about this later.

~*~*~

To be honest, it wasn't like he was suffering any sort of shortage in cuddles or intimacy. For having twin three year olds, his sex life was minimal but adequate. Better than he might have expected, really. He wouldn't mind a little more, of course, but seeing as he wasn't the one who needed sex to live, he was content with the way things were. Really.

None of which changed his gratitude for having an unexpected night free of the twins, though it still felt strange. And stranger still for being here, of all places, which really was completely ridiculous of him, especially with the blood rune not five meters from where he was sitting, and yet....

“Would a cup of tea help?” Yoshiki asked, hands working his shoulders in a gentle massage.

“Chai and a hot bath?” he asked, inwardly wincing at how needy he sounded just then.

“I think that can be arranged, yes,” Yoshiki said, squeezing his shoulders. “He still has no idea, does he?”

“Who, Shiro-kun? Ah, well, he's been worried from the start about potentially pushing me into things I might not really want. It's kinda making him blind.”

“Amusing, since I know _he_ knows I care for you,” the vampire said with a soft chuckle.

“Ah, but those are _your_ feelings, doesn't mean there's anything more to it than that,” Ryuu countered, letting himself be walked into the kitchen. It still surprised him how readily and easily Yoshiki would cook for him, fixing him most anything he wanted just for asking. Of course he still had trouble actually _asking_ , but ... he was getting better? Sort of?

“He does have quite the blind spot where you're concerned sometimes. How long did it take him to realize things had changed between you and Yuune?”

“To be fair, it took _me_ awhile to figure that one out,” Ryuutarou said, blushing as he took a seat. “Once I did, he picked it up pretty quickly. Not that I was ever keeping it a secret.”

“This time is different, though?” Yoshiki asked as he measured out equal parts soy milk and what looked like a homemade chai concentrate.

“You know how he gets when someone tells him he's right,” Ryuutarou replied with a shrug.

“Now would that be the fake smug superstar routine or the somewhat more genuine giddy schoolboy act?” Yoshiki asked, chuckling.

“Either?” he replied, reaching up to rub at his neck and shoulder.

“I haven't been home this week or I'd shoo you off into the bath right now,” his host said with a soft sigh of regret. “Give me ... ten minutes?”

“It's fine, honest. I think I just pulled something when I picked up Reina for bed last night.”

“Those two sentences are in direct opposition, you realize,” the vampire scolded softly.

“Well, you'd be one to know, hmm?”

“Not an excuse, dear one,” he teased, ruffling dark hair. “You're supposed to learn from my mistakes, not emulate them.”

“Yes, but emulating senpai is what kouhai are supposed to do!”

“Cheeky....”

It didn't actually take the full ten minutes before Ryuutarou was sinking into a hot bath, relaxing into the cradle of Yoshiki's body. Ryuutarou found it interesting how he felt so safe with each of his lovers and yet in a different way each time. Aoi was bright fire and steel claws, he would put his own body on the line before letting danger get a second look at Ryuutarou. Sugizo, on the other hand, was like the calm of the ocean, cool and serene, yet strong and unrule-able. And then there was Yoshiki, dark as the deepest forest at night and twice as silent, twice as deadly. And somehow he, rather than Aoi, had become the foundation of their poly relationship, all three vested in protecting him from anything and everything. It was ... strange.

“You must be feeling less pained ... or is the pain so bad you're mentally running away to escape it?” Yoshiki asked, worry building in his words. “Why do I surround myself with such stubborn mules?”

“No, no, I'm fine, just ... lost in thought,” Ryuutarou murmured, petting one of Yoshiki's arms tucked around him in an effort to soothe his worries. “You know how I get, yeah?”

“Lost in your own head, aye. Still think you should let me give you something for the pain.”

“You can give me a massage after this if it'll make you feel better?” he suggested with a low chuckle.

“Just a massage?” the vampire asked, lips brushing against the back of his ear.

“Start with a massage and see what happens?” Ryuutarou murmured, relaxing back against him even more. He couldn't help a smile at the older man's soft chuckle, the way fingers brushed along his arm. He didn't actually need anything more than this, really, he didn't. But he wasn't going to say no, either, and not just because saying no to Yoshiki almost never worked.

Well, no, that wasn't true. If he genuinely asked Yoshiki to stop, the vampire would. And a wall would go up between them until Ryuutarou took it down. Yoshiki had always, would always respect his limitations, no matter what and without question. It was one of the things Ryuutarou loved about him. And yet there were still times when he wished the man wouldn't be quite so restrained.

“If there's something you want, dear kitten, all you have to do is ask, ne? But you do need to _ask_. Empath, not telepath, remember?”

“Aa, I remember,” he mumbled, blushing in spite of himself. Actually saying the words was always the hardest part for him. Too many years spent being told he was wrong to ask for things for himself. Nearly fifteen years since Isshi had liberated him from that life, taken him under his wing and shown him a different way, but still he struggled against that earlier conditioning.

The slow, seemingly idle touch of Yoshiki's fingers on his skin offered a soothing counter to his racing thoughts. Ryuutarou closed his eyes as he sank even lower into the warm water, tempted to just fall asleep right there. Would that be so bad? Yoshiki would keep him safe, take care of him.

“Hmm, if you're serious about that massage, maybe we should get out of the bath now, before you fall asleep?”

Ryuutarou huffed, but didn't so much as twitch, not even when the vampire scooped him up and lifted him out of the bath.

“Should you really be lifting me like this, with your neck injury?” he asked, stifling a yawn.

“Nothing wrong with my neck, dear,” the vampire countered and he could _hear_ the smug grin in his voice, even if he couldn't see it. “All for show, remember?”

“If it was just for show,” he asked, trying to stifle another yawn as he was set down on his feet and handed a towel, “why were Shiro-kun and Sugizo-senpai so insistent on monitoring you to make sure you didn't overdo things, hmm?”

“They worry too much, the both of them, especially together. Although....”

The sheepish way Yoshiki trailed off only made Ryuutarou that much more curious. He had already had this conversation, twice, once each with Aoi and Sugizo, but it would still be nice to hear Yoshiki's version.

“Mou, you don't have to look at me like that,” the vampire elder said with a shake of his head. “It is just for show, as a vampire, I can't sustain that sort of injury or damage, but having them hovering helped to keep me accountable to my own story. As did you and the little ones. Left to my own devices, I doubt I would have managed to stick to the story so easily. And for that, I am truly grateful, dear kitten. And not just because it afforded me more time with the twins.”

Ryuutarou was momentarily startled by the press of lips to his. And then his towel was falling to the floor, all but forgotten as he pressed closer, kissing back and curling fingers into blond hair. Vampire strength easily swept him off his feet and he hummed in satisfaction. What he was not expecting, however, was the dark purr of Yoshiki's voice in his ear, or the belt that came from nowhere to bind his wrists together, the scarf that appeared to tie him securely to the headboard.

“Really, love, you need to learn how to _ask_ ,” the blond vampire scolded, positioning Ryuutarou as he wanted him, on elbows and knees, ass up in the air. He bit his lip, almost afraid to admit how turned on he was at the moment, by all of it. A beat and he could feel Yoshiki's hard cock sliding between his ass cheeks, not seeking penetration just yet, but rather teasing him with what he _could_ be feeling if he was good enough.

“You want it, don't you, kitten?” Yoshiki asked, as if there was any room for doubt. “Tell me.”

“Hnn, yes, Hayashi-sama,” Ryuutarou whimpered, fighting down the urge to press back against that cock. “Please, Hayashi-sama, please use me.” 

A snort and a slap on the ass were Yoshiki's only response. Ryuutarou bit back a moan, checking the belt's hold on him out of habit rather than any real wish to be released. They hadn't negotiated a scene in advance, but he trusted Yoshiki completely. He would do anything for him, as he knew the vampire would do for him. His shoulder twinged, but he ignored it, for now.

Yoshiki's touch was fire and ice, Ryuutarou couldn't completely hold in his whimpers as the man teased his body with caresses and clawing nails and the brush of fangs that never quite broke the skin. Another whimper when he realized just how very gentle the vampire was being with him. It was hard not to give in and beg for more, as was most likely Yoshiki's intent.

“Hayashi-sama,” he whimpered, hating the quiver of need in his voice.

“Patience, kitten,” the vampire scolded. Another shiver as he felt teeth and fangs brushing his skin, gentle nips that sent something electric straight to his cock. Another nip to the back of his shoulder, another shot of pure pleasure straight through his veins that felt both alien and familiar. Not exactly the same as when Aoi would bite him, feed from him, but he could tell they were similar. Unthinking, he tugged on his bonds, the belt biting into his wrists but not letting him free. Not being able to touch either Yoshiki or himself was even more of a turn on, lust thrumming in his chest. He wanted more, yet the vampire seemed intent on merely teasing him, barely touching him at all. When fingers finally pushed into him, he nearly cried out, unable to stop himself from arching into the burn of being stretched so suddenly.

“Hayashi-sama,” he whimpered again. Pain and something else burned at the back of his neck, his head going fuzzy, and if not for the bindings, he wasn't sure he wouldn't have collapsed. The vampire was ruthless now, demanding in his thrusts, and Ryuutarou was in complete bliss. A part of him wished it would never end, but of course it did, the two of them climaxing together. Ryuutarou wobbled, the room spinning wildly as Yoshiki freed his wrists, then pulled him close and kissed him sweetly. He could feel a crash coming and whined at the back of his throat, but the vampire was still there, still holding him close and cushioning him as he came down from his vampire-induced high. Dizzy, he pressed his eyes closed, an unexpected whimper of pain escaping as he twisted, something molten streaming from his shoulder like fire down his arm.

“Shh, easy kitten, just breathe. Ah, I was too rough with you, love, I'm sorry,” the vampire murmured, helping him settle against him. He wanted to argue - already the pain was fading into the dull haze around him - but his tongue felt too heavy in his mouth. Instead, he settled for nuzzling into Yoshiki's chest and letting the fuzziness envelop him completely. He could be good, just like this, for a good long while. In fact, he fully intended to be.

**Author's Note:**

> insert habitual apology for having Tadashi and Akira be less than accepting of Tarou's bisexuality here. m(_ _)m


End file.
